Page 34 of Fallen Ink

“How big?” Thea grinned. “We already know what he does and his name, so get on to the good things. I mean, the sex has to be good, right?”

Roxie clasped her hands in front of her chest and did a fair imitation of a regency heroine swooning. “Of course, he his. He’s Mace.”

“Aren’t you married?” Adrienne asked dryly. “To the delectably sexy and highly fuckable Carter inside?”

Roxie licked her lips like a cat who had found her canary. “Oh, yes, I’m married to that very sexy man inside who I had a great round of Sir, May I before we showed up for dinner, but we’re not talking about me and Carter now, are we?”

Sir, May I?

What the hell did Roxie and Carter do in bed? Nope, so not going there. Not even going to let her mind drift in the vicinity of that thought other than possibly asking Mace if he’d like to play. Maybe they’d call it Ma’am, May I.

“Okay, that’s another grin, but this time, I’m not sure I want to know exactly what you’re thinking about.” Thea shook her head. “Between the two of you, I’m feeling a little lackluster in the usage of my lady parts area. That may have to change in the new year. Of course, I said that last year and nothing really happened because I’ve been so focused on the bakery, I don’t have time to really care about any dude and his big dick coming in to make me come.”

Adrienne snorted, wine going up her nose. She coughed, trying not to cry her makeup down her face. “I can’t believe you just said that. How much wine have you had?”

Roxie was choking, as well, but Thea raised her glass in cheers. “ I can’t always be the sweet and motherly one. Sometimes, a woman just needs the D. But enough about me, Adrienne darling, you didn’t answer our questions. Of course, as soon as you do that, I’ll have about twenty more for you. So, let’s begin this because soon, Mom or one of the guys is going to come out and we’re going to have to stop talking about this. Oh my God, does Shep know? He works with you guys, he must know. If he’s held this back this whole time, I won’t be very happy.”

Adrienne held up her hands, stopping Thea before she rambled on any more. “Shep doesn’t know. And if you say ‘needs the D’ again, I might fall off this chair and never recover by the way. But I digress. Shea figured it out, as did Ryan, and maybe even Landon.” She looked over at Roxie. “Carter figured it out too, but Mace swore him to secrecy. But he also said, just like Shea, that if their spouses asked them point-blank, they wouldn’t lie. Don’t get mad at him for keeping it from you. If you’re going to get mad, be mad at me, but please don’t get mad at all because really…we were just keeping it between ourselves for as long as possible. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I really don’t know what will happen.”

Roxie frowned but didn’t say anything for a moment as Thea just stared between them, a contemplative expression on her face.

“I will jokingly yell at Carter later for daring to keep such a juicy secret from me. Right now, let’s get on to that whole you really don’t know what’s going to happen thing. I also need to know about his dick, because we’ve mentioned it like five times, and you still won’t talk about it. So either it’s really sad, and he knows what he’s doing with his mouth because you wouldn’t stay with him and risk your friendship otherwise, or it’s so big that you don’t want us to feel jealous. Especially our dear sister over there, who’s feeling a little neglected in her nether regions.”

Adrienne ran a hand over her face. “Why do we keep using phrases like ‘nether regions’ and ‘lady parts’? This whole conversation is wierding me out.”

“Answer the question,” Thea demanded. “Because we love Mace, and I always thought he was like an additional Montgomery brother. But, apparently, that is so not what you’ve been thinking. Unless you sort of were, but then this is a whole part of the conversation I really don’t want to have.”

Roxie giggled and leaned into Thea, and Adrienne figured they’d talked around the subject enough that she just needed to get on with it.

“First, because I know you won’t let me get out of this conversation without talking about it, even a little, here you go.” This time, it was Adrienne who grinned like that canary-eating cat. “He’s amazing. Hands-down the best sex I’ve ever had. Biggest…you know what I’ve ever seen. I’m not going to go into dimensions or measurements because, first, he’s mine, and it’s something I kind of want to keep to myself. Second, he deserves at least a little bit of privacy even though he probably should’ve realized that he wasn’t going to get any when he became friends with me in the first place.”

Her sisters clapped, and she rolled her eyes. Sometimes, it was nice acting as if you weren’t an adult with bills to pay and countless lists you needed to check off.

“He makes you happy?” Roxie asked. “Because that’s the most important thing.”

Adrienne nodded slowly, truly thinking about her answer. “With everything going on right now in the shop and how someone’s trying to take it down to do whatever the hell they are planning, he’s the one thing that’s making me smile.”

Roxie sighed happily, but Thea didn’t react, as if she knew Adrienne wasn’t finished yet. Roxie had always been the dreamer, and though some things had changed in the past year after she married Carter, that part of her remained—if slightly dulled.

Adrienne told them about her first night with Mace and their following nights and how he made her feel. She couldn’t help but laugh as the two of them fanned themselves. Adrienne might not have gone into too much detail, but they had been able to guess.

“The thing is, he made me smile before we changed everything. I love you guys, and I love Shep, but I also love the fact that I had connections outside of our family. I know it’s the same way with you and Molly, Thea. The idea that I can have these friendships that feel like family outside of the amazing and loving unit we already have, always make me feel more well-rounded. And I didn’t realize that really, not until I noticed that Mace needed to rely on me as well as his own family when his ex showed up and dropped off Daisy.”

She frowned, trying to get her thoughts in order.

“But now, everything is different. Yet not. We thought we were so smart in talking about each step as I somehow found myself in his arms and not wanting to pull away, yet I don’t think there was a way to talk about exactly what we were feeling until we knew what that was. And even now I don’t know if I know. It’s all confusing and exciting and exhilarating and I’m finding myself having these new feelings and fun with my best friend in ways I didn’t know I could before this.”

“Do you love him?” Thea asked softly.

She met her sisters’ gazes and nodded, scaring herself. “ I loved him before I thought I was possibly making the worst mistake ever. That love was like a base for what I’m feeling now, and that idea is just scary. I focused on my business and my art for so long that I put aside the idea that I could be with another person. And after everything that happened with him with Daisy’s conception and birth and all of the legal problems afterwards with his ex—and even more so now—I don’t know what he wants out of what we have. We’ve done so much to make sure that we’re not going to break each other during, that I’m truly afraid what will happen if and when we decided the risk isn’t worth it anymore. Because I’m not the same person I was even a month ago, and I think the change is for the better. But I’m really afraid that he’s not going to fall for me like I’m already falling for him.”

She wiped away a single tear, unaware that she’d let it fall.

“He’s your best friend, and I don’t think that will change.” Thea spoke slowly as if working through her words. “But I do think if you’re truly falling for him like we all think you are in this moment, then maybe you need to state the path you want to take. I’m not saying bare yourself and your feelings. Not yet. Not unless you want to. But maybe you need to make it more than just steamy nights when you can find them. I know you have a little girl to think about, too, but she’s already in your life, and you are in hers. But if this is truly what you want, you’ll make it happen. There’s never been one thing in your life that you haven’t been able to grab by the horns, because you throw yourself into things headfirst. I’ve always admired that about you, and I love you so damn much. So, if you’re truly falling for him, take the next step.”

Their mother called them in for dinner before anyone else could say anything else, so she hugged her sisters and went inside to enjoy a family meal with people who understood her. And when she got home, she pulled out her phone and took the next step.

Addi: I think we should go on a date.

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